Juvederm Injectable Gel, My Experience

I'm 53, and for the last 2 years or so I've been noticing lines around my mouth that make me look like I'm constantly frowning. To make matters worse, my bottom lip, which was once beautiful and full, has now shrunk and looks like a small, stretched out rubber band. While menopause has the benefits of freeing a woman of periods, cramps and pre-menstrual syndrome, the downside is aging. Any woman my age will agree: The aging process accelerates once periods stop.

I saw a program on TV involving the injectable filler Juvederm. Juvederm is a clear, smooth consistency gel made of hyaluronic acid-a naturally occurring substance in your skin that helps to add volume and hydration. It's used to erase lines and wrinkles and add volume to lips and cheeks. My daughter-in-law works for a plastic surgeon so I called her and asked her to mail me some brochures and information. She sent me information and pricing on all the injectable fillers, including: Cosmoderm & Cosmoplast, Restylane, Juvederm and Radiesse. There was a huge difference in the cost that coincided with the difference in how long the results lasted. The doctor she works for has "botox parties" 4 times a year and he gives special pricing on botox and injectable fillers. There was a party scheduled in 3 weeks, so I decided now was the time to do it and called her to schedule me.

The day finally arrived and I was both nervous and excited. The doctor came into the room and asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to erase the wrinkles around my mouth and add a little filler to my bottom lip. He named all the products we could use and then explained the difference between them. I wanted a natural looking, long lasting product. He said Juvederm and Radiesse were both long lasting--Juvederm could last 9 months to a year and Radiesse could last 1 year to 18 months. The difference between the 2 products is: Juvederm is a clear gel and Radiesse is a white paste that if used in the lips could (in some cases) cause the lip to have white patches. I didn't want to take a chance on that because it would mean I'd need to have lipstick on all the time. He told me that I could have swelling or bruising, but it would be temporary. Juvederm comes in a big, prefilled syringe. He offered to numb me up, which I declined.

After an alcohol swab, he started with the wrinkles around my mouth. I felt a pinch, more like a bee sting and in 15 seconds one side was done. He did the other side and I thought, "this isn't so bad." Then he changed needles and went in the left side of my lower lip. This hurt--bad...very, very bad. It felt like he was going back and forth in a sawing motion with a brush under my skin. I doubt if that was the case, but that's how it felt. My eyes were tearing up but I knew I couldn't move. What felt like an hour was really over in a minute or so. He then looked at it, had me open my mouth and ran his fingers over the inside and outside of my lip to make sure it was distributed evenly and handed me a mirror. It was perfect! The only visible sign anything was done was 3 little puncture wounds. The party price was $450.

I came home and put a little ice on my lip. It didn't look swollen, but it felt it. I had a bruise on the inside of my lip. As the evening went on the bruise spread to the center of my lip. It could easily be covered with lipstick. All in all I was a very happy woman. Until the next day. When I woke up, my husband looked at me and said: "It looks like you were punched in the mouth". The bruise had spread to below my lip, darkened and could not be covered by lipstick. It would take 7 days for it to go away completely.

I would give Juvederm an excellent rating. It provides great, long lasting results. I would tell anyone thinking of getting their lips plumped to make sure they do it on a week of vacation, just in case of bruising. It's hard to explain a bruised lip and mouth to your coworkers. And last but not least, if offered a numbing agent, don't be brave--take it.